Greeting card



I Feb. 11, 1947. s. J. KLEIN ETAL GREETING CARD Filed Nov. 29, 1941 INVENTORS 6'a/d/e lf/emmdfianjamindlem BY I Lean-always Patented Feb. 11, 1947 .1.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GREETING CARD Goldie Jacobs Klein and Benjamin Klein, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application November 29, 1941, Serial No. 420,932

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to the fabrication of greeting cards, especially to cards having a portion or portions arranged to extend in different vertical and horizontal planes when erected, thus yielding desirable eifects of depth and perspective, and the invention relates more particularly to cards of the above type in which the operation of erection is elfected by drawing upwardly upon a suitable portion of the card, whereby the various vertical and horizontal ele ments are caused to assume their intended relative positions.

For the sake of economy in the fabrication of these articles, and speed in their production, it is desirable to make each card, with all its component parts, by cutting and creasing an integral blank of sheet material of suitable shape and dimensions, thus rendering it unnecessary to make separately, and paste on, any parts essential to the completion of the structure. Heretofore, except in the case of very simple articles of the class described, it has not been found possible to produce satisfactory one-piece greeting cards of the type indicated.

Other features of the invention will appear as the description of the drawing progresses.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a greeting card in the construction of which the present invention has been embodied;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan View of a cut and scored blank from which has been erected the gift card shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the reference character H designates in general a complete greeting card constructed in accordance with the present invention and comprising what will be termed for the sake of brevity, a main structural panel element l2, having numerous integral parts which will be described in detail, a base panel structural element l3, from which parts of the element I 2 have been developed by cutting and creasing operations, a back structural panel element [4, from which other parts of the structure have been similarly developed, being disposed at the rear of the upright element [2, and constituted as a panel extension of a sub-base element 15, to which it is connected at a fold line Hi. All of these ele- 2 ments are preferably constituted by integral parts of a blank of suitable sheet material ll, such as thin cardboard somewhat resilient, and cut and creased to form the component elements and parts as herein disclosed.

In the greeting cards shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there are no parts other than those developed from the original blank, and all parts shown are held in position by virtue exclusively of their original connection with adjoining parts of the blank, or by engagement with suitably formed parts thereof bent into retentive engagement of a character designed to maintain the complete structure in its fully erected position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, without the use of adhesives.

In the blank shown in Fig. 3, as cut and creased suitably prior to its erection to the position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a fanciful figure 58 is delineated, seated upon a throne, the main upright portion of which is designated l9, being defined by upright cuts 20 and horizontal creases 2|, the latter defining fold lines which permit this main upright of the throne to be moved forward out of the plane of the panel l2, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, this operation being effected in general by bending panel l2 up at right angles to panel l3, along the fold lines 22' therebetween.

By virtue of the last-named bending action, the seat 23 of the throne and its back 24 are moved forward to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2, these elements being defined by cuts 251 and creases 26, the latter defining horizontalfold lines to permit ready bending of the material into a horizontal plane for the seat and into a vertical plane for the back.

This formation of the throne, by the principal bending action above described, is accompanied by a forward movement of the upper part of the torso of the figure seated thereon, for the reason that all of the torso above the crease or fold line 28 remains integral with the back 24 of the throne, upon which the arms of the figure are de picted (by suitable printing) as rested, and as another crease or fold line is provided at 21, the final effect is to have the thighs 29 of the figure parallel with the seat, but sufficiently above the plane of the seat to give the effect of thickness,

the crease or fold line 28 being spaced sufii-.

ciently above the fold line 26 between the back and seat to yield the intended effect.

remain integral with the upright element 9 of the throne, and with the top of the stool 3|, the stool being defined by cuts 32* and fold lines 33, 34 and 35, the fold line 33 extending across the ankles of the figure, which accordingly appear (see Fig. 2) as resting upon the stool. A small step 36 is provided, with cuts 31 and horizontal crease line 38, which permit its erection to the position shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Wings 39 and 48 can be bent over along fold lines 4! and 42, and when engaged frictionally with shelf-like parts 43 and 44 of the throne, will be self-retaining and will aid to maintain the erected position indefinitely as long as not handled too roughly. A sort of valence may be printed, as indicated at 45, to complete a canopy effect over the throne, in cooperation with the curtain-like wings 39 and 46.

It is to be understood that the throne structure is merely an illustrative form of a large variety of greeting card structures in which we have embodied the basic idea of means of the instant invention, viz., to provide in an integral blank all the structural components of the completely erected greeting card, including those to be disposed in numerous vertical planes and horizontal planes, with parts constructed and arranged to be engaged frictionally with other parts to constitute a self-retaining erected structure without the use of adhesive.

At 46 we have provided heart-shaped tabs having cuts 4?, and under which complemental tabs '48 on the upper ends of the wings id and 41 may be tucked to enhance the frictional retentive efiect.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will beapparent that we have provided for carrying into effect the respective objects of the instant invention by providing a greeting card formed from an integral blank and comprising all of the desired components of such a card, disposed in various vertical and horizontal planes, and having parts acting by frictional contact and juxtaposition of parts with other parts to maintain the erected position of the greeting card.

We claim:

A gift card having numerous portions disposed in various vertical planes and various horizontal planes when completely erected, all of said portions constituting integral parts of the original blank from which the card is formed, together with other integrai parts thereof constructed and arranged to maintain the completely erected position of said gift card by frictional engagement with other portions when so erected, without the use of adhesive; and in which the first-named portions can be brought to their final vertical and horizontal positions of complete erection by a single erective motion, and can be returned at will from said erected position to a common position of planar alignment by a reversal of said erective motion.

2. A blank for the production of a greeting card of the class described, said blank being cut and scored to provide a back, a base, and a plurality of extensions from said back in difierent horizontal planes, said blank having a transverse fold line scored therein, and said extensions being so cut and scored that when a part of the blank constituting the back is swung upwardly upon said transverse fold line and out of the plane of the base, the extensions will, by virtue of said swinging movement be caused to project out of the horizontal plane of the base and the upright plane of the back to theirfinal position in the greeting 4 card, and when the card is to be collapsed into a closed position, downwardly upon said transverse fold line, said blank having vertical fold lines and parts constructed and arranged to swing around such vertical fold lines into juxtaposed frictional engagement with the ends of one of said extensions and cooperating by said engagement, when the card is in a fully erected position, to maintain said erected position without the use of adhesive, and yet be collapsible into a closed position without manual adjustment of the parts.

3. A blank for the production of a greeting card of the class described, said blank being cut and scored to provide a back, a base, and a plurality of extensions from said back in different horizontal planes and a plurality of extensions from said base in diiierent vertical planes, said blank having a transverse fold line scored therein, and said extensions being so cut and scored that when a part of the blank constituting the back is swung upwardly upon said transverse fold line and out of the plane of the base, the extensions will, by virtue of said swinging movement, be caused to project out of the upright plane of the back to their final position in the greeting card, and when thecard is to be collapsed into a closed position the back is swung downwardly upon said transverse field line, said blank having vertical fold lines and parts constructed and arranged to swing around such vertical fold lines into juxtaposed frictional engagement with the ends of one of said-extensions and cooperating by said engagement, when the card is in a fully erected position, to maintain said erected position without the use of adhesive, and yet be collapsible into a closed position without manual adjustment of the parts.

i. A greeting card of the class described, comprising a blank cut and scored to provide a back, a base, and a plurality of extensions in different horizontal planes, said blank having a transverse fold line scored therein and said extensions being so cut and scored that when a part of the blank constituting the back is swung upwardly upon said transverse fold line and out of the plane of the base, the extensions are caused to project out of the planes of the base and back, said card having also wing portions integral with that part of the blank which lies beyond the horizontal fold line, said wing portions being bent forwardly to an angle less than perpendicular to the plane of the back into self-retaining engagement with the edges of at least one pair of said extensions.

5. A greeting card as claimed in claim 4 in which the wing portions are substantially parallel to the plane of the back of the card in both the open and closed position of the card.

6. A greeting card as claimed in claim 4 having vertical fold lines and wing portions to swing around such vertical fold lines into juxtaposed frictional engagement with the ends of one of said extensions and cooperating by said engagement when the card is in a fully erected position, to maintain said erected position without the use of adhesive, and yet be collapsible into a closed position without manual adjustment of the parts, part of the back being provided with two slits, said wing portions being provided with two tabs for cooperative engagement within said slits.

7. A blank for the production of a greeting card of the class described, having a back, a base, a plurality of extensions from said base, and vertical fold lines and parts constructed and arranged to swing around such vertical fold lines into juxtaposed frictional engagement with the ends of one of said extensions and cooperating by said engagement, when the card is in a fully erected position, to maintain said erected position without the use of adhesive, and yet be collapsible into a closed position without manual adjustment of the parts.

GOLDIE J. KLEIN.

BENJAMIN KLEIN.

REFERENCES CITED Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Altheimer Aug. 9, 1935 Gray Feb. 20, 1940 Howard Oct. 29, 1940 Lowenstein Jan. 12, 1932 Aker May 24, 1936 Hayes June 18, 1940 Harris Dec. 31, 1938 Gibson Aug. 11, 1896 Horr "Sept. 28, 1943 

